On Screen: Books versus Film
May 31
There’s a lot of talk going around about film adaptations of late (we’ve flagged a few on this blog – Never Let Me Go and The Life of Pi, as well as the soon-to-be-released Disgrace, The Road and Sherlock Holmes).
Meanwhile The Millions have put together this medley of books and their movie counterparts. (If you’re brave enough to adapt a beloved book to film, then I’d say a good bet would be to include Cate Blanchett in the cast – she has delivered brilliant interpretations of character in both Zoe Heller’s Notes on a Scandal and Peter Carey’s Oscar and Lucinda.) In this spirit, here are a few more comparisons. I’d say the book usually comes out much better than the movie, but there are a few exceptions. I find that the adaptation can be better or on par with the original book if, as David Nichols says, it ‘faithfully render[s] an author's prose voice in a visual style’. This is not small thing. Unlike books, movies generally have a set time limit, so inevitably the plot is slashed and dissected, and the characters rid of a layer or two. Sometimes, if the screenwriter manages to play surgeon instead of butcher, this allows the tone of the book to come out beautifully (for some more thoughts on screenwriting go here).
I thought Joe Wright’s adaptation of Atonement, for example, was bang on. Clever editing (scenes played backwards, repeated, the ominous sound of the typewriter keys slotting back into place) helped re-create that heavy sense of regret and yearning that filled McEwan’s book.
Perfume was another adaptation that I thought was done reasonably well, but it was a difficult thing to capture the feel of Patrick Süskind’s novel, which so elegantly and viscerally described the sense of smell, on film. Even though the movie was rich with imagery and colour, it couldn’t live up to the text.
Finally, I had to throw in an old favourite, The Princess Bride. I do love the movie, but the book comes out on top, simply because there was such an element of knowing, good-nature satire that I felt didn’t come through as strongly in the film. But anyway both win props for those immortal lines ‘Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die’.
JA
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Comments
31 May 09 at 1:29
I've heard that the film of Perfume is terrible, actually - but maybe I should check it out after all.
Let the Right One In was nicely done as a film, too, but the start was a little slow.
...31 May 09 at 10:05
Actually, I haven't read The Princess Bride...inconceivable! But I do adore the film. Particularly the sword fight sequence set to music. During a brief pause in the action: 'Actually, I know something you don't know.' 'What's that?' 'I, am not left-handed.' 'Neither am I'. Master swordfighting continues...
Will have to track down the book!
...31 May 09 at 18:42
Ian - Actually Perfume is not bad. Not great, as I said I think the book is better.
Lily - I had no idea the Princess Bride was a book until a few years ago, but it's a great read. You get more backstory to the characters as well. It's by William Goldman, so hope you manage to find a copy!
...01 Jun 09 at 10:49
One of the only films I've enjoyed as much as the book (even though there were differences, the tone was perfectly captured) was The Hours.
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